Haifeng wasn't interested in giving these auto giants face.
They'd come to China to stir up trouble under the guise of a "fair test." So why should he play polite?
Zhao Jianhua walked over and gave the signal. "It's time. We can begin."
Across from him, BMW's Dieter Schopf called out with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Mr. Lu, we hope this crash test will be fair and impartial. With so many companies and media outlets watching, I trust you'll handle it well."
Haifeng turned to him, calm but sharp.
"Sounds like you don't trust Audi's testing standards. Are you suggesting we're rigging the results?"
"Every testing parameter we're using is public and backed by data. And every company here brought its team of evaluators."
"If you don't trust our system—or your people—you're free to withdraw. No one's forcing you."
He paused, then added, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Or… maybe we change the rules."
"How about this: we scrap all your prepared test cars and instead pull real models from dealerships.
Random picks. No tweaks. No cheats."
The room fell quiet.
"If your production cars are as safe as you claim, there's no reason to object."
The silence lingered a beat too long.
Everyone knew what those test cars were—hand-built showpieces, rigged for one event.
No sane executive would allow their market cars to be crash tested live.
If they agreed to Haifeng's proposal, they'd be exposed. But if they rejected it too quickly, the audience would smell something fishy.
Several of them laughed awkwardly.
"Mr. Lu, that's not necessary."
"This is just a test. We're all swamped—no time to waste on gimmicks."
"We completely trust the standard. There's no need to stir the pot."
"The cars we've brought are regular production models. No difference at all."
Haifeng smiled faintly.
"If that's how you feel, I'll leave it. I don't mind using these cars… so long as no one complains about fairness later."
He already knew exactly what kind of game they were playing. The moment he made the suggestion, their masks slipped.
A little bait—and they flinched hard.
He didn't need to force their hand. They'd already exposed themselves. Everyone watching could read between the lines.
Haifeng had made his point: if they were confident in their cars, they'd have nothing to hide.
But none of them took the dare.
And in the end, it didn't matter.
No amount of scheming could cover up a gap in fundamentals. No special version of a flawed car could magically outperform Audi's A4.
They wouldn't survive this test unless they turned their sedans into tanks.
A few minutes later, the brands finally exhaled. Haifeng had moved on.
That random-pull suggestion had shaken them hard.
It would've put them in an impossible spot if he'd insisted. Now they were eager to change the subject.
"Mr. Lu, it's almost time. Shall we begin?"
"Yes, yes. Let's not delay. We're all quite busy."
"This is a fair test. We're confident in your process."
"And in your integrity, of course."
Haifeng didn't call out the hypocrisy. He didn't need to.
Instead, he nodded once.
"Very well. Let's begin."
"To keep things impartial, we'll draw lots to decide the order."
No one objected. Draw lots? That was safe. Luck was neutral. No one could complain.
The boxes came out, the papers drawn. The lineup was set.
Porsche would go first.
BMW was third.
Audi? Fourth.
No one liked going first, but no one could say a word. That's what they drew. That's what it was.
Porsche's CEO, David Mason, looked mildly frustrated—but he knew he couldn't protest without looking petty.
At that moment, the live streams switched on.
Every central platform opened its broadcast feed. The audience flooded in.
Millions of viewers—especially those planning to buy a new car—had been waiting for this moment.
Everyone wanted to know one thing:
Which car brand actually builds something safe?
And who was bluffing?